While import offer prices of electric resistance welded (ERW) oil country tubular goods (OCTG) casing and line pipe products to the US have stayed largely neutral, US demand for imports is currently weak.
Import energy pipe offer prices to the US haven't moved in the last week, but with import activity only mediocre, prices may fall again as the summer progresses. The last drop was seen in mid-June when both import prices of OCTG casing and line pipe from Korea and Taiwan dropped as much as $4.00 cwt. ($88/mt or $80/nt) on low US demand. But while another downtick in import prices is possible if US demand doesn't pick up, it won't be as significant as that seen last month. For now, Korean and Taiwanese J55 ERW OCTG casing import offer prices have reflected no change since last week and still range from $53.50-$54.50 cwt. ($1,179-$1,202/mt or $1,070-$1,090/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.
Korean and Taiwanese offer prices of API X42 ERW line pipe prices are unchanged as well at $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but import line pipe prices are under the most downward pressure. Traders tell SteelOrbis that import line pipe activity is only "okay" at the moment and the $3.00-$4.00 cwt. ($66-$88/mt or $60-$80/nt) drop in Korean and Taiwanese sales prices in the US three to four weeks ago did nothing to bump up activity levels.
In the US, demand for line pipe not tied to specific drilling projects is tepid. And moving forward, as rigs drilling for natural gas continue to decline, despite consistently rising oil rig counts, even demand tied to drilling projects is poised to slow. Nonetheless, US domestic API X42 ERW line pipe spot prices have also trended neutral in the last week and still range from $66.00-$67.00 cwt. ($1,455-$1,477/mt or $1,320-$1,340/nt) ex-Midwest mill. US domestic OCTG casing activity has been quiet as well in the last few weeks, but a tight spot market has kept domestic spot prices from falling. In the last week, domestic spot prices have even firmed toward the upper range of $66.00-$67.00 cwt. ($1,455-$1,477/mt or $1,320-$1,340/nt) ex-mill.